POTSDAM, N.Y. – Senior Greg Merrill (Brighton, Mich.) and junior Kody Grondin (Hampton, N.H.) each scored goals, but the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team was upended by SUNY Potsdam, 5-2, Friday evening at Maxcy Hall Arena.

The Hawks fall to 3-4-2 to kick off 2014, while the Bears improve to 4-7-0.

Potsdam struck first 4:18 into the contest when Erick Ware received a pass from Zach Blake and beat senior goaltender Robert Kang (Glen Rock, N.J.) for the 1-0 lead. The Bears went on to make it a 2-0 game 1:58 later as Ken Simon set up Vinny Caligiuri's first of the game.

The score remained that way until 17:48 of the second period when Simon connected with Caligiuri for the second time. Adam Place was also credited with an assist on the play.

Saint Anselm finally jumped on the board with 50 seconds left in the stanza when Merrill bested Potsdam netminder Shane Talarico off assists from junior Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass.) and senior Alex Pascal (Blue Bell, Pa.).

Caligiuri helped the Bears regain their three-goal advantage as he earned the hat trick just 2:21 into the third period. Place and Brad Campagna collected assists.

The Hawks once again made it a two-goal game on Grondin's unassisted power-play strike at the 7:37 mark, but Potsdam answered again with 1:31 remaining to seal the win as Ware and Place set up Todd Thomas' power-play tally.  

Kang made 20 saves, while Talarico turned aside 32 shots. The Hawks outshot the Bears, 34-25, including 26-16 over the final two periods. Saint Anselm was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Potsdam went 1-for-4 with the extra skater.  

The Hawks will return to action Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. when they play a rematch with the Bears. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).